Happy Birthday, Estee Lauder! A Former Employee Looks Back
Happy birthday to Estée Lauder. (Photo: Getty Images)
Today is the birth date of the original beauty mogul Estée Lauder, born in New York in 1908. Way before branding oneself became a trend, the cosmetics queen perfected the concept. Born Josephine Esther Mentzer in Queens, she teamed up with her uncle John Schotz who made beauty tonics in his home kitchen. While he was skilled at creating the product, Lauder was a born salesperson. One of her most famous quotes was “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.” By the early 1940s, Lauder changed her husband’s surname Lauter to Lauder, began using her middle name, and was selling creams under Estée Lauder. Lauder’s personalized selling approach earned her legions of devoted fans, she believed in the power of touching each client, often directly applying products to their skin. Lauder also understood the power of image, marketing her own glamorous lifestyle to sell beauty-in-a-jar. By the time her company went public in 1995, the now global company’s estimated worth was five billion dollars.
Recently, we had a chance to talk with Estelle Hahn Brodsky who worked at Estée Lauder for over a decade in their public relations department. Brodsky reminisced about her time working at the prestigious beauty brand, and what it was like to work with the Lauders. Here is her story in her own words:
I started working at Estée Lauder in 1980. I stayed for twelve wonderful years and I don’t have a bad word to say about that time. I started as an office assistant in the international press department. We did presentations all over the world, Singapore, parts of Africa, and Asia. It was an excellent company to work for, partly because you were working with such a high caliber team of people. Everyone had really earned their stripes.
Everything we did was inspired by Estée Lauder herself. We had a sign on our desks that said, “Is it Estée Lauder?” We wanted to make sure everything reflected her vision. We always knew to push things one step further. You always had to be at the top of your game. She was extremely detail oriented. She approved everything, the placement of things in a meeting, and every single color line.
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